DOH: 78% of Pennsylvania long-term care residents are vaccinated

DOH: 78% of Pennsylvania long-term care residents are vaccinated

By Hayden Mitman

April 16, 2021

Nearly one in five residents at Pennsylvania’s long-term care facilities has yet to receive the coronavirus vaccine. But on April 15, state health officials announced some steps to close that gap. 

As of April 1, just over half of the staff at skilled nursing facilities have been vaccinated, according to a survey by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. 

In an effort to improve the numbers for new staff and residents, state health officials say they’re leveraging federal COVID-19 vaccine allocations through the Federal Pharmacy Partnership.

“It’s available to assisted living, personal care, intermediate care facilities and the like,” says Keara Klinepeter, executive deputy secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, “For most facilities, they will be able to simply go to their pharmacy partner and say that they need 50 residents, 25 staff, what have you, who need to be vaccinated.” 

While only 53% of staff at skilled nursing facilities have received a shot, Klinepeter says those numbers are roughly on par with the national average. She says the steps they are taking should increase vaccination rates. 

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